GOES 12 is an American geosynchronous weather satellite that was launched by an Atlas 2A rocket from Cape Canaveral at 07:23 UT on 23 July 2001. The spacecraft carries an IR imager, a "sounder", and an X-ray imager. The IR imager is a Cassegrain telescope covering five wavelength channels, 0.55-0.75, 3.80-4.00, 6.50-7.00, 10.20-11.20, and 11.50-12.50 microns. It can provide images covering 3,000 km x 3,000 km every 41 seconds, by scanning the area in 16 square kilometer sections.